^07] MATHEWS— LANGUAGE OF THE BIRDHAWAL TRIBE. 353 



I am beating myself, Bundhattharanetch. All the remaining 

 persons and numbers can be inflected in the same way. 



Reciprocal. 



There is a form of the verb to express that two or more persons 

 are reciprocally doing the act described : 



We, dual, are beating each other, Bundhaiadyillung. 



We, plural, are beating each other, Bundhaiagundhiang ; and so 

 on for the second and third persons of the dual and plural. 



In the past and future tenses of verbs, there are variable termi- 

 nations to indicate that the act described was done in the imme- 

 diate, recent, or remote past; or that the act will be performed in 

 the proximate, or more or less distant future. That there was, or 

 shall be, a repetition or continuance of the action, and other modi- 

 fications of the verbal suffixes, which must be passed over for the 

 present. 



Owing to the several inflections of the verb in the past and future 

 tenses just referred to, it is often found convenient, especially when 

 speaking in the dual and plural, to prefix a complete pronoun from 

 the table of pronouns. This leaves the termination of the verb freer 

 for the various suffixes required to convey the different meanings. 



There is no special form for the passive voice. The sentence, 

 " a man was kicked by an emu," would be expressed by the para- 

 phrase, " an emu kicked a man." 



Adverbs. 



Yes, nyung. No, kalligo. To-day, wadya. This evening, warifi. 

 Yesterday, buna. To-morrow, mimburin. By and by, kalla. Some 

 time back, buni-i. Here or this, dyinda. There or that, mindhi. 

 Away yonder, bubburike. Where, ngulman. Dhunggo, here. I 

 am here, dhunggomanetch ; thou art here, dhunggomangunna ; he is 

 here, dhunggomana. 



Prepositions. 



The equivalents of our English prepositions are in some cases 

 separate words, but are also frequently expressed by a verb, as in 

 the Dyirringan^ and other languages. 



'Journ. Roy. Soc. N. S. Wales (1902), Vol. XXXVL, p. 166. 



